Deputy Arts Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald

In step ... the Paris Opera Ballet in a scene from Giselle. Photo: Sebastien Mathe

BENJAMIN MILLEPIED is perhaps best known outside dance circles for preparing Natalie Portman for her Oscar-winning role as a deranged ballet dancer in Black Swan. He later married her and is the father of their 18-month-old son Aleph.

But Hollywood fame counts for little at the world-renowned French ballet company that Millepied will lead.

The newly-appointed director of dance at the Paris Opera Ballet will have to work with one of the men he beat for the job, the company's ballet master, Laurant Hilaire.

New director of dance ... Benjamin Millepied. Photo: AFP

In Sydney for the Paris Opera Ballet's production of Giselle, Hilaire said Millepied will have to balance his leaning towards contemporary works with the traditions of the company.

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''The fact is in this situation you have to bring what you are and preserve what it was,'' Hilaire said. ''We have to wait and see what kind of balance he will keep for the company.''

Hilaire said Millepied, who will take over from Brigitte Lefèvre in September 2014, was mindful about the reputation of the company: ''He's very worried about the tradition also.''

The Paris Opera Ballet has origins dating back to the 17th century in the court of Louis XIV and is the best ballet company in the world, according to its general manager, Nicolas Joel.

"To be polite, we call ourselves 'one of' the best companies in the world','' Joel told The New York Times.

The 35-year-old Millepied was born in France but attended the School of American Ballet in New York as a teenager before joining the New York City Ballet in 1995.

Millepied, who had no official ties with the Paris Opera Ballet before his appointment was announced last week, has choreographed a number of contemporary works for ballet companies, his own L.A. Dance Project, films and the musical Hands on a Hardbody.

In contrast, Hilaire joined the dance school of the Paris Opera in 1975, and performed with the company from 1979 to his retirement in 2007. He has been ballet master since 2005.

Despite being overlooked for the top job, Hilaire said he looked forward to working with Millepied, whom he described as a great dancer.

''Everybody's curious,'' he said. ''I hope he will bring something different and something more.''

The Paris Opera Ballet performs Giselle at the Capitol Theatre in Haymarket from January 29 to February 9.